


The Strip Mall

by Noodle_64



Category: Major League Soccer RPF, Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crack, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2020-01-14 22:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18485365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noodle_64/pseuds/Noodle_64
Summary: Crosby's Sporting Goods has just opened and in getting to know all of the other shop owners in the strip mall, Sidney realizes that teams aren't just in sports.





	1. The Grand Opening

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on some RPs I've done on Twitter, especially the odd couple pairings. Give it a chance?

"Geno!" Sidney called over his shoulder as he went to go and turn the "open" sign on. "Is the register on?"

A deep sigh came from behind him. "It on. Like ten minutes ago." came the brusque reply of his long suffering partner.

He knew he was worrying too much about  _everything_ but he just wanted things to go well with this opening. After blowing out his left knee in college playing hockey, Sid had drifted from job to job, not really finding anything that he enjoyed. It took meeting Geno and getting bullied into playing in an ice house league for the idea of the store to come together.

Too many of the so called "sports stores" didn't have people who really  _knew_ anything about the sports they were trying to sell people equipment for. While they were griping about salespeople who had no clue what they were doing when it came to fitting people for skates, it was Geno's off hand comment of "We could do better" that had gotten Sid thinking.

It had still taken him a couple of years to save up and get enough money and distributors together to make this dream of theirs a reality but now, they were ready to actually put things into motion.

He had told himself to not be disappointed if people didn't come in right away. Realistically, it was going to take them some time to build up a client base but the coach of the local high school hockey team, Martin Jones, had sworn up and down that he would do his best to convince the school district to purchase from Sid, since he was willing to give them fair prices on things.

Giving Geno an apologetic smile, which earned an affectionate eye roll, Sid flipped the small switch on the sign before unlocking the glass doors.

Croby's Sporting Goods was now officially open for business.

Not even ten minutes after the store was open, a cheerful looking man with dark hair and tanned skin came into the shop, with a small bundle of flowers in his hands, which he handed over to a bemused Sid.

"Hey there." He said brightly. "I'm Chris Wondolowski. I work at Dempsey's Tattoo Parlor down the block. We just wanted to say welcome to the neighborhood."

Sid had remembered seeing the shop but hadn't paid much attention to it, since tattoos really weren't his thing but he knew Geno would be interested and he was right.

His partner had a little boy with his ex wife named Nikita and Geno had gotten a very detailed tattoo of Niki since he didn't have him all the time.

Leaving Geno engrossed in conversation with Chris (who seemed like a pretty nice guy), Sid took the flowers and placed them carefully on the counter. It was a nice gesture and maybe they could send over a cookie platter or something to the tattoo parlor.

"You tattoo?" Geno was asking as Sid returned and Chris shook his head.

"Nah. I'm not creative enough for all that stuff. I'm just the guy that answers the phones and occasionally shows the really drunk people the door if they get a little too rowdy. We haven't had that happen a lot, fortunately but there was one dude we did have to call the cops on. Clint, Stefan and Nick are the artists."

"Hey, answering phones and keeping people organized is important." Sid pointed out and Chris laughed.

"The way Clint put it was 'you're good at corralling people and getting shit done so we need you'. I wasn't really happy working with my stepmom's reality business so I figured I would give it a try. That was three years ago and it's been a good move for me."

Chris looked familiar somehow and Sid wasn't sure if perhaps he had seen him when he and Geno had gotten their first place together. They'd gone through pretty much every reality business in the city before they'd found somewhere they could agree on. But he had the nagging suspicion it was something else.

"You guys should come by on Friday after you close." Chris said as he headed toward the door. "A bunch of the business owners around here come down to the shop and we all have a beer together. It's super casual and you'll get to know a bunch of people."

Nodding, Sid figured that wouldn't be a bad step in figuring out who was who in the area. "We just might do that. Thanks for coming by Chris and it was nice meeting you."

"He nice." Geno pronounced as the door closed behind him.

"He seems like it. Maybe we should go over there on Friday, meet some of the other people."

"Not bad idea. Could help in future."

It was never a bad idea to be a good neighbor though and Sid was glad that they were on the same page. Sometimes they were and sometimes they really weren't but as he'd told Geno, they would need to keep things as professional at the shop as possible. They were in a pretty progressive area but he didn't want to bring anything from home here. If they were having a disagreement about something, they'd have to deal with it when they got home. Both of them could be pretty stubborn sometimes and while they didn't really have fights in the traditional sense, some of their discussions could get a little heated. Geno knew how much this meant to him, though. He would never do something to mess it up intentionally.

Around 11:30 the phone rang and it was Martin. Sid had gotten to know Martin really well only a few months ago. He played goalie for their beer league team but was pretty quiet. It had taken a couple of beers to get him talking but once he did, Martin seemed to never shut up.

"Any customers yet?" He asked and Sid smiled slightly.

"No, but the receptionist at the tattoo parlor came by with a nice vase of flowers. A little 'welcome to the neighborhood' thing."

"That's pretty classy." Martin commented, sounding impressed.

"Yeah. He seemed familiar somehow but I can't think of where I've seen him."

"Well what's his name?"

"Chris. Chris Wondolowski."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

"Chris  _Wondolowski_?!?" Martin practically screeched and Sid had to hold the phone away from his ear for a moment.

"Yeah. Why?"

Sighing in exasperation, Martin began talking so fast that it was almost hard for Sid to keep up with what he was saying.

"He's that soccer player. The one that had someone intentionally stomp on his leg and pretty much wrecked his knee a few years back. It ended his career and got the other player a lifetime ban."

 _Oh_. As soon as Martin mentioned that, Sid remembered hearing about it but as Major League Soccer really wasn't his deal, he hadn't paid much attention to it beyond wondering how low someone could be to do that to another athlete.

"What the hell is he doing in a tattoo parlor then?"

"No idea. His team had offered him several different positions with them but he said that he was done with soccer and didn't want to be reminded of it every day."

Sid could relate a little bit to that. His future in hockey had been pretty bright before his own injury. He hadn't been able to watch the sport for a long time and even now when he watched the Stanley Cup Finals, he wondered if in another life that could've been him. But he was happy with things as they stood and it never did to dwell on what you couldn't change.

"Maybe he needed some time away from it." Sid suggested.

"Maybe. I can't believe you met him and had no idea who he was." Martin sighed.

Something in Martin's voice made a smirk touch Sid's lips. "Well  _you_ knew who he was. Do you like watching soccer on the side, Marty? Or did you just watch  _him_?"

Sputtering, his friend tried to protest but Sid could tell he had touched a nerve. Martin rarely dated and the last person he had gone out with had really done a number on his self esteem. Maybe, if he was crafty enough about it, he could see if he could at least engineer a meeting between Chris and Martin. Chris seemed like a pretty chill and nice guy and if nothing else, Martin could maybe get a picture with him.

"I can't believe you." Martin grumbled.

"After this long, Marty Baby, you should." Sid reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah. We still on to play Dumoulin and the Dragons tonight?"

"As far as I know."

Brian Dumoulin was the captain of another beer league team. A certified public accountant, he was someone who had loved hockey and played in college but wasn't quite good enough to declare for the NHL draft. Still, playing his team always meant a good game and ever since they'd added a couple of new people, Kris Letang and the goalie, Jordan Binnington, it was sure to be a good time.

"Good. Make sure you rub a puck in Binnie's smug face."

Martin knew Jordan from somewhere (neither would say where, which made Sid wonder if they had dated at one point) and their banter was always going back and forth.

"We'll see what we can do."

After exchanging goodbyes, Sid hung up the phone and turned to find Geno eying him suspiciously.

"What you tease Mart about?"

"Martin knew exactly who Chris was. I'm pretty sure he has some kind of a crush or something."

Geno's eyes lit up and Sid knew his partner was now on the case. He loved trying to get people together for some strange reason and if Geno was on board, then Sid would have help in Operation: Make Martin Meet Chris.

"We get them to meet." Geno said, rubbing his chin. "But how?"

"Maybe on Friday when we go over to the tattoo parlor, we can see how Chris feels about hockey."

It would be a start.

A few people actually came into the store in the afternoon and Sid thought there should've been confetti when he made his first sale. Depending on how things went, they might need to hire some more help and while he knew the basics of some other sports, it might be helpful to have people on staff who really could help. He and Geno  _knew_ hockey. With Martin mentioning soccer and remembering that their town actually had an MLS team, it wouldn't hurt to start looking around for someone who might be able to help them fill that knowledge gap.

Closing up the store at the end of the day, Sid reminded himself that Rome wasn't build in a day. It would take time to get established but he was looking forward to the challenge.

"You ready?" Geno asked from the back room.

"Yeah." He answered as he turned out the lights. "Let's go play some hockey and kick Dumoulin's ass."


	2. The Beer Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Beer League Night. Let the trash talking begin.

The Ice Palace was a rink with a rather lofty name for what it was. Kids had skating parties there and there were a lot of adult teams of former college players and people who'd played as kids who just wanted to get together with other hockey minded people and pretend they were competing for the Stanley Cup. This was where Sid and Geno went to meet up with the rest of their team.

Sid's team, the Hoseheads, were a fairly ragtag group that consisted of himself and Geno, along with Martin, Jake Guentzel who was a landscaper, Robby Fabbri who was a janitor at the middle school, Tyler Toffoli who owned his own bakery called 'Toffoli's Treats' and a high school history teacher named Zach Parise, who was originally from Minnesota. Like Sid, he'd had a promising looking future ahead of him but his Achilles' got the better of him and he wasn't able to pursue hockey beyond college.

Being a little injury prone, everyone in the beer league knew not to hit Zach and some people had jokingly brought a large roll of bubble wrap to the rink before a game so they could wrap him up.

Zach took the chirping with good humor and he usually came on when someone wanted a break. He always showed up though, which Sid appreciated. Sometimes people drifted in and out, which made it hard to get a good team going sometimes but they'd had their core players for almost two years now and they were actually getting better.

As they got ready, suiting up with their pads and custom jerseys that someone had designed for them with a little hose that was shaped into a human head, Brian's team were arriving.

Even though they might talk shit to each other, Sid really did like Brian Dumoulin. He was a CPA and a good one. He had helped Sid get all of his business accounts set up and had recommended which banks to talk about about loans, etc. That didn't mean they weren't going to be trying to beat their team tonight.

Brian was a  _nerd_. He was obsessed with fantasy and could talk about 'Game of Thrones' or 'Lord of the Rings' for hours and still have more to say. That was why his team were called the Dragons.

Sid didn't see Brian though and was a little concerned until he saw the accountant come rushing in, still dressed in a suit. It was a slightly jarring sight, since he was used to seeing his friend in jeans and a sweater when it was beer league night.

"Sorry, got a little tied up at the office. Tax season." He grimaced and Sid nodded understandingly. Brian was always a lot busier around tax season, which sometimes meant Anze played a little more and acted as the captain in Brian's absence.

"You afraid to play us." Geno challenged and Brian rolled his eyes.

"In your dreams and not even then, Malkin."

Shaking his head, Sid looked over the other members of Brian's squad. Jordan Binnington, a newer addition, was a good goalie, he had to give him that. The young man could be pretty cocky at times and Sid knew there was more than once instance when Robby wanted to thump him a good one. The two of them had gotten into a couple of shouting matches but Jordan never backed down and neither did Robby. Sid was just hoping for a decent game tonight and not World War III.

The other new guy, Kris Letang, had coached before and he was pretty damn good. Probably too good to be playing with them, honestly, but he'd said he wanted something a little more low key than some other adult leagues so here he was, slumming it with them.

Tanner Pearson had moved to town only a few months ago and Sid liked him. If there'd been room on their team, he would've invited Tanner to join them but Brian was the one who had space so that was where Tanner had gone.

"Look at Pearsy." Geno snickered and Sid gave him a questioning look.

Brian, still in his suit, was talking to Anze Kopitar, Zach's significant other and Tanner was staring at him.

"Nothing like a man in a suit." Sid muttered and Geno had to disguise his laughter as a cough.

"Should have party, celebrate store. Invite the guys." Geno said, waving a hand toward the teams.

That wasn't a bad idea and Sid smirked as something occurred to him.

"We should invite the guys from the tattoo shop."

Geno nodded rapidly, knowing exactly where Sid's mind was going.

"Yes! But also ask Chris about liking hockey. If hate hockey, not good."

His partner was of the opinion that anyone who hated hockey wasn't to be trusted and while Sid could sympathize with the sentiment, there was no guarantee that Martin would actually like Chris Wondolowski upon meeting him and vice versa. They could also strike up a friendship, which wouldn't be bad either. Martin needed to get out more and if he had some friends outside the beer league, it might help.

"We can ask about that on Friday, when we go to the little meeting."

Brian kept looking toward the door and Sid made his way over to him.

"Expecting someone, Dumo?" He asked and Brian nodded.

"We just hired a guy, moved down from Alaska. He played in college and he's stayed up with it pretty well. I invited him to come check things out, see if he might want to join us. He said he was going to come."

Almost as soon as Brian said that, a tall man also wearing a suit came into the rink and from behind him, he heard a distinct moan come out of Tyler Toffoli's mouth.

"Jesus..." Tyler muttered and Sid reached back with his stick to give him a warning tap since the giant was coming their way.

Once someone got over the sheer size of the guy (who was taller than Geno and Geno was no pixie), even Sid had to admit he was handsome. He was blond haired, blue eyed and had a bright, friendly smile when he approached them.

"Colt! Glad you make it!" Brian said, clapping him on the back. "Guys, this is Colton Parayko."

As Brian went through introductions, Geno was trying not to laugh at the rapt expression on Tyler's face. "I'm thinking he like what seeing."

"I think so too." Sid snorted. Tyler had new crushes every week though and he was pretty sure this wouldn't be anything to write home about at the end of the day.

"Nice to meet all of you." Colton said and Tyler took the opportunity to strike.

"Be nicer if you gave me your number." He said, giving Colton a winning smile.

Raising an eyebrow, Colton took a moment before he answered. "Score a goal, and I'll think about it."

Tyler looked thunderstruck and everyone around him snickered. Sid was glad to see someone not falling for Tyler's charms right off the bat. Tyler was sassy and it seemed like Colton wasn't going to just be bowled over by him. If nothing else, this could potentially be something to chirp him about.

"Swing and a miss!" Zach hooted as the teams were going out onto the ice to warm up a little bit and Tyler tried to flip a puck at him.

"Shut up, old man."

'Old man' was the nickname of choice for Zach, who took great joy in reminding Tyler of the time he had whiffed a puck and almost fallen flat on his face. If someone didn't know better, they would probably think that the two of them hated each other but in reality, they just enjoyed giving each other shit. Anze, Zach's boyfriend/partner/whatever was a lot quieter and preferred to stay out of any 'Toffoli vs. Parise' interactions, which Sid really couldn't blame Anze for.

The Slovenian was kind and smart and Sid could see why he and Zach had drifted together. They'd met during a Pub Quiz night. Zach's team had needed another person and Anze had volunteered. They'd been inseparable ever since.

"Here they go again." Anze commented as he skated by, shaking his head but he looked at Zach fondly.

"Do they ever stop?" Sid pointed out and that got a chuckle out of Anze.

"True." He conceded before heading over to consult with his team.

The beer league was pretty informal and mostly a chance to just get out on the ice. Martin was in good form that night, not letting anything get past him. Jordan was also having a good night though and wasn't letting any pucks into the net. Tyler tried several times but Jordan was one step ahead of him.

"Let me get Colton's number!" He said, shaking a mock fist at Jordan.

"He said he'd think about it. Not that you'd get it." The goal tender said gleefully, which made Robby bristle.

Sid gave him a warning look. Tonight wasn't the night to get into something, especially with a new guy there.

"I admire the effort." Colton commented, and Tyler looked pleased, which had Robby muttering to himself.

"Stop letting him get under your skin, Fabs." Sid counseled when they took a water break. "You're just giving him attention, which is exactly what he wants. If you ignored him, he would get bored and stop."

"I know." Robby groused. "But he's such an asshole!"

In his own personal opinion, Sid didn't find Jordan Binnington to be any worse than several other people he knew but something about him seemed to really grind Robby's gears.

"Are you going to be able to play in a league with him? We can see if we can request a change if it's that serious."

Robby shook his head almost immediately. "No. I like this league. Besides, I don't have to see his stupid face that often. I'll deal with it and if we change leagues, he'll know it's because of him. I'm not giving him that satisfaction."

"Okay. Just don't scare the new guy off, okay? He seems nice enough and Brian really does need another person on his team."

Robby heaved a sigh, like he had just been asked to fly to the moon on paper wings. "I'll try. But I can't promise anything."

It was good enough for Sid and they resumed play.

Zach was finally the one to break through the Brick Wall of Binnington and get a goal in what would've been the last minute of the third period if they'd been going by official time.

"Dammit!" Brian sighed, shaking his head.

"We reign supreme!" Sid joked, holding his arms up in victory.

The teams went back and forth with who won and it was pretty much a tie at this point.

"What do you think, Colt? Want to join the madness?" Brian joked as he skated over to where Colton had been watching their game.

"Seems like fun. I think I will."

Reaching into his pocket, he took out a small scrap and paper and started to write something on it. Was he really going to give Tyler his number?

He made his way over to Tyler and Sid watched him hand the piece of paper to the baker, who accepted it smugly until he opened it.

"Hey...there's area code brackets and spaces and only one number filled in."

Colton's smile was positively evil. "Every game we play, you get one more and it's my cell phone so you won't be able to Google it."

Tyler's jaw dropped and everyone was looking at Colton, impressed. He was devious and going to fit in rather well with this crew.

Wishing them goodnight, Colton strolled out of the rink, hands in the pockets of his coat.

"I hate him. He's delicious but I hate him." Tyler huffed and Sid just gave him a look.

"Please. If there's anything you like more than a challenge, I have yet to know about it."

Colton Parayko might be the exact kind of challenge that Tyler needed in his life.


	3. Friday Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Friday night gathering at Dempsey's Tattoo Parlor yields some interesting information.

Wednesday and Thursday saw a few more people come into the story and on Friday, it was positively bustling in the afternoon. Geno was excited when a mother and son who spoke Russian came into the store and Sid let his partner take care of getting the boy some new skates.

It was nice to see Geno involved, helping get a kid on his way with the game of hockey.

There were certain things he knew about Geno. He knew where he was from, the names of his parents and the general story of how he had come from Russia to the US, but there were things that he still didn't know, things that Geno didn't like to talk about. There were the nightmares that sometimes had Geno thrashing and shrieking in Russian and Sid had to wonder what in the hell had happened to him.

But any time he tried to press, Geno clammed up and eventually, Sid figured it wasn't worth pushing him on. If he ever wanted to talk about it, he would listen.

"Get them sorted out?" Sid asked as Geno came over to see what he was up to. He'd been trying to figure out how to arrange an end cap the way he wanted it and it was finally looking like what he'd envisioned in his head.

"Yes. Nicolai excited to play." Geno reported, sounding like a proud father.

Sid smiled to himself. Even though some people only saw Geno's height and physically bulky build, there was a kind hearted person under that. He was a good father to Nikita and if there was a little kid around, Geno would be the one making faces and laughing with the child.

Never having given much thought to fatherhood, Sid was glad that he was able to experience even a little of that when Nikita came to visit them. He tried not to encroach too much on Geno's time with the little boy, though. He felt like it was precious and wanted the two of them to have that bonding time without him hovering around.

"Ah, the pee wee league. I remember it well."

Sid's parents had been convinced he was going to be in the NHL and after his injury, they were just as lost as he was. It was part of the reason why he had left Canada to come to the United States. He wanted to get away from the pitying looks of the people in his town, who knew what had happened. Poor Sid Crosby, the boy wonder who'd blown his knee out. Here, he was just Sidney. He could get away from all of that.

"Bet you were cute." Geno commented and Sid looked over to see his partner examining a small helmet, probably trying to think of when Nikita would be old enough to wear it.

"If you want to see pictures tonight when we get home, you can."

Sid's mother had sent a couple of boxes of his things down from Ontario. They were downsizing since they didn't need all the space any more and she figured they were things he would want.

There were some of his old hockey medals from the junior teams he had been on and a photo album he hadn't looked at in more than a few years. He wasn't sure he was ready to but if Geno was there, he could get through it.

Checking his watch, Geno headed over to the door to turn off the "open" sign and lock the door. There was a small, enclosed courtyard where all of the people from the various businesses in the strip mall could access for breaks and those who smoked and they could get to Dempsey's Tattoo Parlor that way instead of having to go down to the street entrance.

Chris had said it was informal but Sid still wondered if his polo shirt would pass muster. However, when they got there and saw how casually everyone from the parlor was dressed he realized he hadn't needed to worry about it at all.

Accepting a beer that was handed to him by a tall, skinny man, Sid wondered who he was but that question was answered when he put out his hand for Sid to shake it.

"Clint Dempsey. Nice to meet you, finally."

This was the owner of the shop and judging from his left arm, he knew what he was about.

"Nice to meet you too, Clint. Thanks for the welcome wagon."

Waving off his thanks with a snort, Clint shrugged. "Seemed like the right thing to do. Make yourself at home, that's what we play the cleaning crew for. They'll be here around ten so if you ever see lights on in here super late, it's just them."

Sid nodded, taking note of that. It was good to know.

Chris came by with a short, dark haired man in tow. He wasn't conventionally handsome but he definitely had the kind of face that you'd remember once you saw him. "This is Nick Lima, one of the other artists here." He explained. "Nick, this is Sidney Crosby and his partner Geno. They just opened that sports store where Walker's Pianos used to be."

Nick nodded, grinning. "I'll probably be in tomorrow with my cousin." He laughed. "Stevie's getting into soccer and I said I'd get him a ball for his birthday. Now I know where to go!"

Like Chris, Nick seemed to be pretty nice and Sid was able to find out a little more about him as they chatted. He had played soccer as a kid and through high school, into college. He'd been good, but his true passion was for art. He had done some things with the team that Chris had played for and Chris knew how good he was with his art. When Clint had been looking for another artist to add to the shop, Chris had suggested he reach out to Nick and that had been the beginning of his apprenticeship.

"I know what I'm doing now. The training wheels are off." Nick quipped as he took a sip of his beer and Sid had to laugh.

Geno was over talking with Chris and someone else, who Nick informed him was Stefan Frei, a guy who had just started working at the shop not too long ago. He'd moved down from Seattle.

"He looks...a little scary." Sid said hesitantly and was relieved when Nick nodded vigorously.

"Tell me about it. But when you get to know him, he's really chill. He likes to focus on what he's doing while working and it can make him come across as a little unfriendly but once he puts the needles down, he's cool. He's originally from Switzerland but you can't really tell from his English. He'd come over to try and play professional soccer but there were issues with his visas and by the time he got everything sorted out, his opportunity had already gone. He was here so he decided to make the best of it. He studied at an Art Institute in Seattle and you should see some of his stuff."

Pulling at his sleeve, Nick guided Sid over to a series of three canvases on the wall, the colors using blue, green and splashes of orange.

" _He_ did these?" Sid asked, marveling at them for a moment.

"Yep. He could probably be earning a hell of a lot more at another shop but Clint's got an honest reputation and that's what Stef was looking for. He'd tried working at a couple of other shops and hated how the owners would gouge people without even using high quality inks. Clint is upfront. Our work isn't cheap, but if we're going to put something on someone's body, we want it to be looking good when they're 80, you know?"

It made sense, but it wasn't something Sid would've associated with a tattoo parlor. Still, he was well aware that he himself had ideas about tattoos or people who had them without even really realizing it.

"Do you all have tattoos?" He asked, hoping he wasn't committing a faux pas by asking.

"Yeah. Chris and I each just have one. Clint's got almost a full sleeve and Stefan's got the most tattoos of all of us. He's got some small ones and then a really big back tattoo. It's cool as hell but I can't even imagine how much work must've gone into it. He's a trooper, to be able to sit there for that long."

Motioning over to Geno, Sid smiled unconsciously. "Geno's got one and he's trying to talk me into one."

Nick tilted his head slightly. "How do you feel about it?"

"Initially I was pretty resistant to the idea but I think a lot of that was more how my parents had raised me to think of tattoos, rather than my own opinion. I like Geno's and I like them on other people, I'm just not sure I would like one on  _me_."

"If you ever want to see what it would be like, there's this thing called Inkbox online and they'll send you a temporary tattoo but they look pretty realistic. You can upload a design or you can pick one of theirs. I've had people do that if they couldnt' decide between a couple of tattoos or if they wanted to know how a tattoo would look on them. It might be worth a shot so if he keeps trying to talk you into it, you can say you're thinking about it or you can say that you tried that and you don't think it would be a good look for you."

So many things that Sid had no idea about. "I might have to try that Nick, thanks."

Geno came back over from his conversation with Stefan looking unusually smug and Sid knew immediately something was up.

"What are you plotting?" He asked immediately and Geno gave him a wounded look, which Sid wasn't buying for a single second.

"Stefan say that Chris lonely. Think it good if he meet Martin."

He should've known that Geno would be trying to get some information for his matchmaking purposes. "What else did he say?"

"He say that we should ask Chris to come see game. Would probably come."

Sid considered that. He didn't know Chris, but given that the beer boys (as they were commonly called) accepted pretty much anyone, they'd probably be fine with Chris.

"Chris, you like hockey?" Geno asked when the man in question came by to see if they needed anything.

"You know, I really don't know anything about it. I grew up playing soccer and my dad got me into watching baseball and football, but I haven't watched any hockey. I'd be willing to give it a shot, though." He said honestly.

Sid explained about their little beer league and Chris seemed fascinated by the idea of these independent adult leagues who just got together to play for fun.

"I wish other sports did that. Just because people are older, doesn't mean they might not enjoy some of the things they used to when they were younger."

"We've had a good time and it helped us make friends when we moved here." Sid shrugged. "We won't force you out onto the ice or anything but we can teach you some basics of hockey so if you come over and watch any games with us, you'll understand what we're shrieking about."

"No, it sounds like fun." Chris said enthusiastically. "I'll be at the Ice Palace on Tuesday night."

Poor Martin had no idea what was coming.


	4. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martin finally meets Chris, but of course there's a catch.

Tuesday felt like it was going to be forever away but the days passed faster than Sid even realized. The store wasn't open on Sunday but Nikita came over for his weekly visit with his father and Sid spent a lot of the day looking over distribution catalogs for things like boxes, display pieces and anything that he might want. Of course he came outside when Niki said "Papa Sid, play!" There wasn't a lot that he and Geno wouldn't do for the almost three year old boy.

At first when he'd begun to date Geno, Sid had been a little worried about how close Geno and his ex wife Anya were but once he'd seen them together, he realized his worries were foundless. If Geno had wanted to be with Anya, then he would. Theirs was a close friendship and it would be much easier on Nikita if there wasn't any fighting between his parents. Geno respected the hell out of Anya and once he'd gotten to know her himself, Sid did as well.

He was surprised that they considered him a part of the family so quickly but it was Niki who had sealed the deal the first time he'd ever called his dad's boyfriend "Papa Sid". Neither Anya nor Geno had told him to say it and that was that. He was Papa Sid now.

"You looking forward to game tonight?" Geno asked as they were clearing up the counter during the last half hour that Crosby's Sporting Goods was open.

"Yes. We get to play Kessel's team."

Phil Kessel was a "waste management engineer" (which was essentially a garbage man) and a pretty nice person. His team wasn't the strongest but they always ended up laughing every time they played them and it would be nice after the little bit of tension between Robby and Jordan Binnington. Geno was of the opinion that Robby hated Jordan so much because he wanted him and Sid wasn't sure. It was possible.

They were going to wait for Chris, who would be following them over to the rink. He was still coming and Stefan asked for the address so he could drop in later. His afternoon appointment was going to be a long one and he wouldn't be off right at six like the others.

It was strange to think how much his circle of friends was starting to expand. He knew the guys on the beer league teams, sure, but now he could honestly say that Chris, Nick, Stefan and even Clint were friend. On Monday when they were about to run out of register tape and the box wasn't due to come until the morning on Tuesday, Nick had brought a couple rolls over for them when he'd heard Sid freaking out in the courtyard during the first break. They'd been able to send some markers over to one of the other stores who used them for checking stock in and they were all dry or gone.

There was a share and share alike mentality in the strip mall. They were all specialized stores, so there really wasn't any competition and Hank, the owner of the small hardware store, often told people who mentioned needing sports equipment to head on down to Sid's store. He and Geno were trying to return the favor, letting their customers know about a big sale Hank was having on some tools.

Closing up the shop, Sid was snagging his jacket and keys when the door that led out to the courtyard opened and Chris stuck his head inside. "Just going to pull my car around the block and then I'm good to go."

Sid nodded, motioning for Geno to come with him and they got into their car to wait for Chris.

It didn't take him long to pull in behind them and when the coast was clear, they led the way out to the Ice Palace.

Martin was going to have  _no_ clue that Chris was going to be there and Sid had been torn between giving him some kind of warning, or just playing it cool. He didn't want Martin to think they were trying to set him up because there was no way to know if the two would even get along. If nothing else, Sid figured that Martin could use a friend like Chris. The California native was kind, funny and offered good advice without being condescending about it. Both Sid and Geno liked him a lot and if their goalie got a new friend, that was a good thing.

Geno, of course, was hoping for something more but Sid had told him not to get ahead of himself and just see what ended up happening, an answer that the enthusiastic Geno didn't care for too much.

Still, sometimes it was better to be a little bit cautious.

Pulling into a parking space, Sid went to get his bag but Geno already had it and he leaned over to kiss his partner's cheek. "Thanks, Zhenya."

That was a name that only Geno's family, Anya and Sid called him. It was a private thing and Sid didn't really use it outside of home too much but he appreciated the gesture and not having to carry his equipment bag.

Agog, Chris followed them inside, looking around at everything and peppering them with questions about the marking on the ice, how big the rink was, etc. He wanted to know  _everything_ and Sid found his enthusiasm catching. He was pretty glad to be here tonight with his team.

Lacing up his skates, he got out onto the ice when Martin came in. He was running a little bit late tonight and as a result, he didn't even look up until he was out on the ice.

The goalie's face when he saw Chris was  _priceless_. At least, it was. . . until he skated right into the side of the rink. He went down hard and Sid was already hurrying over before Martin was still.

His helmet hadn't been strapped on completely and had gone flying and Sid was concerned he had hit his head.

"Martin?" He asked, kneeling down beside the downed goalie.

"What?" His friend answered weakly.

"You okay?"

"I don't know. I just fell on my ass in front of Chris Wondolowski."

"Well that's what happens when you're looking at the scenery and not the rink." Sid answered mildly, which earned him an irritated look and a middle finger from Martin, but that meant he would probably survive.

"Is he okay?" Chris called, hovering near the side of the rink with a concerned look on his face and Martin groaned softly.

"I think so. I'm just worried he hit his head."

Martin rubbed a spot near the back of his head and Sid wondered if they should call the game.

"Bring him over here. One of my many failed jobs attempts was EMT so I can at least check his pupils and see if there's any concussion signs." Chris said.

Before Marting could protest, Geno and Sid got him onto his feet and towed him toward the side of the rink.

"You two are  _dead_ to me." Martin hissed and Geno just elbowed him.

"Just talk. Could be friend."

Chris figured out how to open the little door and had them set Martin on the bench before he fished a little light out of his pocket. "Just keep your eyes on me. I'm going to look at your pupils." He said consolingly and Geno snorted as they got back on the ice.

"Eyes on him is not problem. Eyes on feet  _is_."

Sid had to quickly clap a hand over his mouth so he didn't start laughing. Martin was already going to be giving them enough hell for this without him thinking that his team mates were laughing at him.

"What?" Geno protested, trying to look serious. "It true!"

"That's why I'm almost laughing, you dork." Sid sighed but he couldn't help smiling.

Martin seemed to be frozen, answering whatever questions Chris put to him but his eyes never wavered away from the former soccer player's face. Eventually, Sid heard Chris ask "Do I have something on my face?"

He almost fell over when he heard Martin's answer. "No. . . you're just really pretty."

Even with his darker skin, it was clear that Chris was blushing and it looked like Martin might actually get up the courage to kiss Chris on the cheek but of course Tyler had to ruin the moment.

"Get it, Jonesy!" He called out and Martin's pale face was now bright red and he averted his eyes.

"How about we go outside for a minute and let these nosy Nancys mind their own business?" Chris asked, jerking a thumb toward the outside door.

Martin just nodded wordlessly and Chris grinned brightly at him before they made their way outside. Sid had no idea what happened but about 20 minutes into their game, the pair came back inside and Martin was clinging onto Chris' hand, his face still red but not from embarrassment.

Stefan dropped in later and beyond a raised eyebrow when he found his co-worker holding hands with someone he'd never met, he didn't comment, merely started talking to Martin and soon enough the goalie was explaining plays and different aspects of hockey to two people who were happy to listen and learn.

Zach was doing a decent job of filling in for Martin at goal and denied Phil a goal to end the match with the Hoseheads winning.

"Go home, Kessel!" Tyler taunted and Phil just snorted.

"Go whiff another puck, Toffoli."

Tyler growled and Sid smirked.

"Any luck getting Colton's number?"

"No." The baker sighed as he pulled off his helmet. "I tried to get Dumo to tell me but he wouldn't. I send some cupcakes to the office and I got a note back with just a number on it and the initials CP."

"Just use the power of the cupcakes. If that fails, get Dodger involved."

Tyler's little Yorkie, Dodger, was irresistible and if there was any way to get Colton to crack, that could.

Brightening up at the suggestion, Tyler was muttering to himself as he went to go get ready to go. It looked like he had a plan of attack.

"Look like Martin happy." Geno said slyly, motioning over to where Martin still sat with Chris, the two of them in deep conversation and their hands not having left each other's yet.

"We'll see how things go, but Chris is a good guy." Sid shrugged.

Checking his watch, Chris said something to Martin who seemed to deflate a little bit but Chris pulled out his phone and handed it over to Martin, who accepted it and started to punch something into it while Stefan pretended to be looking very hard at the wall on the opposite side of the rink, like he was seeing none of this.

"Martin give number. Maybe they go on date."

"Maybe you can be patient." Sid said, nudging Geno in the side with his elbow.

Rolling his eyes, Geno pouted a little as they sat down to get their gear off.

"See you guys later!" Chris said, waving at them as he and Stefan both headed toward the door.

"See you, guys. Thanks for coming!" Sid called after them.

Martin was practically floating and flushed when both Geno and Sid gave him knowing looks.

"What?!"

"Martin, you seem like your feet aren't even on the ground. Spill."

The goalie sat down on the bench by them, starting to get off the gear he hadn't even ended up using. "He's. . . really great. Like  _really_ great. We're going to have dinner next week at some point."

Sid's eyebrows went up at that. It usually took Martin weeks to even agree to something like that with someone he didn't know well and that was perhaps a good sign.

"Good! Should go out, have fun." Geno encouraged.

"Hopefully. He's surprisingly easy to talk to."

"Once you stopped fanboying?" Sid teased, skillfully batting the glove that Martin threw at him away.

"I didn't fanboy. Luckily. I didn't really have time to."

"You kiss?" Geno asked eagerly and Martin's face said pretty much everything Sid needed to know.

"Chris and Martin, sittin' by the rink, K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Sid said in a sing song tone and Martin huffed at him.

"Shut up, Crosby."

Figuring it wouldn't do to needle Martin  _too_ much, Sid made sure he had everything before pulling Geno along with him.

"Don't do anything I not do!"

"What would that even be?" Martin shot back and Geno had a shit eating grin.

"Exactly. Do everything!"

Letting out a noise between a gasp and a screech, Martin finally started laughing and Sid was chuckling too as he finally got his partner outside.

"You're terrible." He jokingly scolded as he got the backseat open so they could get their bags into the car.

"Yes, but you loving anyway." Geno retorted, sounding pleased about that.

Sid slid behind the steering wheel. "Yes, I loving anyway." He answered, pretty happy and content with his life at the moment.


	5. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new hire has an interesting interaction with one of the boys from Dempsey's.

The sun was coming out more often and Sid was glad of that. Better weather meant that spring sports would be underway and that also meant more people would be needing to purchase things for their kids.

It was hard to keep baseball gloves in stock and Sid had to do some wrangling with a couple of his distributors to get enough for the high school baseball team but he was proud of the fact that he had managed to pull everything together. He had an analytical mind that enjoyed the challenge and figuring out how he was going to solve the issue before him.

Geno was merely amused by his almost fanatical Googling and looking things up so he could be prepared for anything. Still, no one could deny that Crosby's Sporting Goods was doing well and it was probably almost time to hire another person.

But who could they get? They didn't need someone full time, mostly to close up and perhaps just take the Saturday shift so the two of them could have more than one day off a week.

Chris turned out to have the answer to their dilemma when he heard they were looking for someone.

"One of my best friends just moved to the area." He explained during a Wednesday afternoon break. "His name is Robert Salinas, but everybody calls him Shea. He never uses Robert for anything. His ex-wife lives near here and he was tired of not being able to see his kids very much so he moved down here. He doesn't really need to work, per se, but he's going crazy just sitting in his apartment. An afternoon shift would mean he could drop his kids off at school in the morning and his ex can get them in the afternoon. Win-win for everyone!"

Shea turned out to be a very charismatic guy who had played pro soccer for a little bit and that was where Chris had known him from. He was adept at anything to do with the sport of soccer, which was one of the areas that Sid had wanted to get someone with some knowledge in. With Chris vouching for him, Sid was more than prepared to give him a month's trial, see if things would be good for both parties.

Leaving Geno to man the counter on Shea's first day, Sid had taken him out into the courtyard to show him where he could take his break and some of the guys from the tattoo parlor were out. They had a tradition on sunny days which was basically all of them sitting around with their shirts off. They had cajoled Sid into doing it once, which had resulted in Geno coming out and throwing some singles at him. It had been funny and yet another bonding experience with the boys from Dempsey's.

At that time, Nick and Stefan were sitting outside, Nick talking away and Stefan listening while he was sketching something on one of his numerous pads of paper that he always had around him. It seemed to Sid that Stefan was rarely without some form of paper near him in case some artistic inspiration struck.

Stefan's tattoos were quite intricate and he had designed them himself, which was all the more impressive in Sid's eyes. He was almost used to them now, which was why he didn't think anything of it but Shea stopped dead.

"Who's the hunk with the sketch pad?" He had asked, clearly ogling Stefan.

Sid was about to warn him that with the way the courtyard was built, you could pretty much carry on a conversation with someone sitting all the way across from you but it was too late.

Without missing a beat or looking up, Stefan answered. "I assume you mean me, and my name is Stefan."

Poor Shea's face had gone beet red and ever since then, he refused to go out into the courtyard, even though Sid had tried to get him to go on Stefan's days off. Shea wouldn't budge, though. He had embarrassed himself and there was no way he was going to look Stefan in the eye.

"I'm going to break." Sid announced, looking over at Shea and Geno, who were setting up a display for the window. "Are you finally going to come with me, Chicken Little?"

Shea made a face at him for that nickname. Sid had started calling him that after "The Incident" as Shea referred to it. Chris had thought the entire thing absolutely hilarious but didn't dare say anything after the mighty glare Shea had given him.

"Nope." Shea said with a shake of his head. "I'll just take a seat in the back room and see if the daycare's uploaded anything."

The daycare where Shea's two sons, Gabe and Jude went had an app that the parents could download and it would keep them up to date on what their kids were doing throughout the day. They would post pictures and videos and Sid knew that Shea appreciated knowing what his boys were doing while he and his ex were at work. It made the decision to put them in daycare a little easier for both of them.

"Your loss. It's a nice day." Sid shrugged, heading out the door into the courtyard.

Chris and Clint were out and he seated himself by them.

"Still no Shea?" Clint asked, leaning back on his hands.

"Nope. Even when I called him Chicken Little again."

Chris let out a low whistle. "You know, I've never known him to be so embarrassed about something before. Usually he's pretty good at just shrugging things off but he's really letting this get to him."

"Things change after a divorce." Clint pointed out. "He might be projecting his usual confidence to everybody else but that doesn't mean he's really feeling it."

That would explain a lot and Sid wondered if there wasn't something that they could do to help. Stefan hadn't been mad about it and when he realized that Shea wasn't coming out to the courtyard because of him, he had even been somewhat distressed.

The door to Dempsey's opened and Stefan stepped out, scanning the courtyard.

"He's not out here." Sid said, guessing that Stefan was looking for Shea.

A muscle in Stefan's jaw ticked and he sighed. "This has gone on long enough. I am going to talk to him and settle this."

He strode over toward the door and Sid wondered if he should go after Stefan, try to stop him or even give Shea fair warning that he was coming but Chris put a hand on his shoulder when he went to move.

"The two of them need to sort this out. It's kinda getting ridiculous at this point." Chris shrugged and Sid had to agree. This wasn't high school. Stefan was a big boy and could take a comment about his appearance with the best of them. Shea just needed to talk to him, apologize or whatever needed to happen.

Geno came flying out of the door a few minutes later and made a beeline for Sid and Chris, his hands practically flapping as he spoke, trying to catch them up to speed on what was happening.

"Sid, Stef come in back room and ask Shea why he avoid him. Shea try to tell him he not, but Stefan say that he not stupid and he know that Shea not coming outside because of him and he just want things to be okay. Shea try to act mad, but you know he not mean it. He tell Stef that everything is fine and he not want to go out to stupid courtyard. Stef say he need to stop pretending things okay when they not and Shea just crack. He yell at Stef to leave him alone but Stef not go anywhere, he just let Shea yell and now Shea cry and Stef hug him and tell him it be okay."

Blinking, Chris and Sid tried to process all of the information just dropped into their laps.

"Sounds like I was right." Clint commented. "He's trying to keep it together outwardly at least but I bet he's torn up inside. How could he not be, not getting to see his kids every day?"

Geno's own face was solemn. "If he love boys like I love Niki, then he hurt very much."

It made Sid wonder if perhaps there were additional times they could have Nikita, if Anya would be willing to let them watch him overnight or something once in a while. It might do Geno some good and he knew that Nikita would be overjoyed to spend more time with his dad. It was worth mentioning.

Stefan came out with Shea in tow and Geno excused himself to go back so there was someone at the shop.

"You okay, man?" Chris asked when Shea was close enough to hear him.

". . .I don't even know anymore." Shea sighed, rubbing at his face.

Chris patted the seat beside him on the bench that Clint's brother Ryan had made for them to sit on. "How about you have a seat and be honest with me, huh? I'm your best friend. You can tell me anything, dorkface."

Shea laughed weakly and Sid figured it was time for him to be getting back to his shop so he slid on out of there as quickly as he could, as did Clint and Stefan. This was a conversation that Shea needed to have with someone that he trusted and none of them wanted to be a third wheel.

"Where Shea?" Geno asked as soon as Sid returned to the shop.

"He's talking to Chris."

Geno's shoulders relaxed a little bit. "Good. He need talk to someone. I like, but he always try make seem like everything perfect when I knowing it not. In quiet times, can see how sad he be."

Sid had learned a long time ago not to underestimate Geno's powers of observation. His partner could be oblivious to things that most other people noticed right away, but he tended to see the things that others didn't. His commentary on Shea was a welcome take on the situation.

"Hopefully since they've known each other a long time, he can finally just tell Chris whatever he need to and be a little happier. He's a good guy."

"Maybe he go out in courtyard now." Geno snorted and Sid shrugged.

"No idea. But I'm glad Stefan decided to just come and find him so it could get sorted out. That business had gone on long enough."

"Long, long enough." Geno nodded rapidly.

Sid's phone dinged and it was a text from Tyler Toffoli. All it had was a string of numbers and about 10 heart eye emojis.

Counting them, Sid realized. . .this was a phone number.

"Geno! I think Tyler finally got Colton's number!"

His partner hustled over to take a look at his phone and whistled. "He make Tyler work for it, though."

Colton definitely had. Between scored goals, hand delivered cupcakes to the accounting office complete with Dodger in tow, Tyler had managed to get Colton's number but it had still taken him over a month. Sid couldn't think of the last time he had ever known the young bakery owner to put some much effort into something that wasn't his business. Maybe there was a lesson in this, even if he and Colton didn't end up really amounting to much.

'Congrats!' Sid texted back, wanting Tyler to know that he had gotten his message.

"Maybe world end tomorrow." Geno joked.

"I hope not. Can you imagine if it did and Tyler never actually got a date?"

Geno's laughter rang out and Sid couldn't help feeling proud of himself.

At least the courtyard would feel a little bit more comfortable now that Shea wasn't actively avoiding Stefan. Everything would be able to go back to normal.


	6. The Accident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Geno's ex wife moves a half an hour away from them, Sid doesn't mind him helping her out. But Geno, being Geno, goes a little overboard and isn't there when Sid needs him most.

Sidney stared at the numbers in front of him and they didn't make sense until he blinked a couple more times. He was just so damned tired right now and while he knew why, he was trying his best not to be resentful about it.

Anya was going to be moving, only about a half an hour away and when she had asked Geno for a little help moving, his partner had thrown himself into helping her get everything ready and loaded up and now on its way to the new house where she and Niki would be living. Sid suspected sometimes that Geno still felt guilty for how things had ended between them and he was always ready and willing to do anything he could to help Anya.

It wasn't like she  _ever_ asked for a lot. But Geno wasn't exactly the soul of moderation and he had been spending pretty much all of his spare time helping Anya get moved.

He loved Geno and loved his big heart but he had been running the shop pretty much single handed for almost three weeks now. He was exhausted and it was taking a toll on his body as well.

His knees weren't the best and he knew that he needed to be sitting down a little more often than he was right now but with Shea only coming in the afternoons, what else could he do? There was also inventory counts to do and unloading stock, which he needed to attend to because it was starting to pile up. Geno usually dealt with the freight that came in but of course, he wasn't there. Again.

Pushing himself back from his desk, he figured he might as well try and get some of the freight put away since Shea was up front. He could do that much, at least.

He found a step stool that he could use to load things onto the upper shelves in the back room and began to check the boxes against the packing lists that he had received, making sure everything was there. All the boxes, once they had been verified, got a black check mark near the label so it was easy to see what had been done and what hadn't.

A couple boxes were short one item and he set those aside to email the vendors about so they could either get some credit or a refund for what hadn't actually shipped to them. Sid liked having credit with vendors, it made everyone's lives a little easier.

Heaving a sigh, Sid began to put away some footballs and got onto the step stool to load the top shelf with them,  but when he went to climb down, his left knee had locked up on him and he could feel himself teetering.

He dropped a pile of footballs, arms pinwheeling to try and keep his balance but it was no use and he toppled over, his arm hitting the edge of a metal shelf on the way down.

Sid couldn't help a startled shout and quick footsteps told him that Shea was on his way.

"Fuck!" he snarled, trying to move his leg. His arm was already aching and when he looked down at it, it was bleeding pretty heavily.

"Sid?!" Shea called in alarm, stopping dead when he came into the back room. "What the hell happened?!?"

"My knee locked up when I was on the damn step stool and I fell when I tried to get down." He explained, wincing as he rolled up to a sitting position.

Shea eyed his arm nervously. "I think you're going to need stitches for that."

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Sid figured Shea was right when he tried to get a better look at the injury. It wasn't good and he knew that a band aid just wasn't going to cut it.

"Is Geno around?" Shea asked as he fished out his cell phone.

"No." Sid said curtly. "He's helping Anya move some of her furniture."

It was clear how he felt about this and Shea tactfully said nothing, hitting another number. Sid wondered who he was calling but he got an answer soon enough.

"C? Hey. Sid fell and hurt his arm pretty bad. He needs to go to the hospital but G's not around right now and I can't leave the store. Do you think somebody from the shop could take him?"

He could hear Chris' voice but couldn't make out the words and She exhaled in relief.

"Tell Nick he's the best, and have Stefan come too. Sid's knee locked up on him and I don't think he can walk too well."

This was going to be absolutely humiliating and that just added some more fuel to the burning fire of resentment that was boiling under the surface. As much as Sid didn't mind Geno making sure his ex wife and son were safe, there were times when  _he_ needed help too.

While they waited for Nick and Stefan to arrive, Shea wrapped Sid's arm up in some clean towels they kept on hand to shine up skates or clean things. Geno had thought Sid was a little crazy for having that many clean rags at the shop but today, Sid was glad that he did.

Nick and Stefan came hurrying in and Sid waved weakly at them with his right hand.

"When you do something, you sure do it, Sid." Nick joked as he and Stefan lifted him off the ground easily between the two of them. While Nick wasn't tall, he was stockily built and Stefan was a giant practically. Sid felt almost like a rag doll as he was carried out of the shop and to Nick's car. They settled him in the backseat so that his left leg could be stretched straight out in front of him and Stefan got into the passenger seat.

Sid's arm really hurt now and he was quiet the entire drive over to the hospital, wincing when Nick and Stefan got him out of the car. The white towels around his arm were starting to turn red and he felt a little lightheaded.

"Try calling G." Nick said to Stefan softly. "Don't stop until he answers."

When Geno was focused on something, he didn't always answer his phone right away and Sid had no idea what was going to happen. Either he'd answer right away or it was going to be a few hours. Knowing his luck currently, it was probably going to be a few hours.

Nick helped Sid get the paperwork filled out for the nurse at the front desk of the ER unit and she got Sid back right away. He figured they were probably concerned with blood loss but whatever got things taken care of was okay with him.

A Dr. Allen came in and explained that he was going to get Sid stitched up, and then he could get home. He also made some suggestions on how to get his knee loosened up, all of which Sid didn't like the sound of because staying off of it was the main thing.

Not watching when his arm was getting sewn back up, Sid was just glad when it was all over and Nick and Stefan could take him home. He was wheeled out to where they were waiting and Stefan grimaced. "G hasn't answered." He said tentatively and Sid scowled.

"Wasn't expecting him to." He shrugged. "Let's get the fuck out of here."

He didn't have to tell them twice. They got him loaded up into Nick's car again and on the way, Stefan put in a pizza order and gave the pizza place his own card number, despite Sid's protests.

"Stitches gets pizza." He pronounced and given that he wasn't going to be in any shape to cook, Sid figured he could at least accept the kind offering graciously. Well, as graciously as he could manage at the moment.

With ice on his knee and his arm still numb from the anesthetic, Sid wasn't feeling too bad. He was still annoyed that Geno wasn't there but that was about it. He thanked Nick and Stefan for being there and acting quickly, but they brushed it off.

"That's what friends are for." Nick said, patting his good arm. "Eat some pizza, take a load off and don't kill G when he gets home."

"Not promising anything." Sid muttered but there was a glimpse of a smile on his face.

The pizza arrived and after he begged them, Stefan and Nick took a couple slices of pizza with them before leaving to go back to the tattoo parlor so Stef could get his car and go home.

He was on his third slice of pizza when Geno came hurrying in, looking concerned and out of breath.

"Sid?! Have messages on phone from Stef. Say you hurt. . ."

He held up his bandaged arm silently and Geno gaped at him.

"What happen?"

Taking a deep breath, Sid had to really try hard to keep his bottled up resentment from spilling over. He just wanted to relate the facts.

"The freight was piling up so I figured I would put some of it away since Shea was at the shop. I was up on the step stool with some of the new footballs we just got in to put them up on the top shelf and when I went to get down, my left knee locked up on me like it does sometimes. I overbalanced and fell, hitting my arm on one of the shelves on the way down. It cut me up pretty well. Stefan and Nick took me to the hospital, ordered pizza and then brought me home."

Geno's brow pulled together. "I always put freight away. . ." he began.

It was the wrong thing to say.

"You haven't even  _been_ at the shop in almost three weeks, Geno! I can't keep waiting around for you to do things when you have time because right now it feels like unless it's Anya or her goddamn house, you don't have time for  _anything_. You haven't even been at any of our beer league games lately. I never see you and even though I love how much you want to help,  _I_ need some fucking help right now or I'm  going to go insane."

Sid hated that he was exploding like this, but it was the truth. Whenever he mentioned something, Geno would say that he'd get to it later, or as soon as Anya was moved, he could take care of it. The party they'd been talking about having to celebrate the opening of the store was a moot point by now. Crosby's Sporting Goods had been open for three months already.

Geno was staring at him and Sid sighed, looking up toward the ceiling. He really hadn't mean to blow up on his partner like that and he was trying to figure out what he could say to apologize before he felt the dip of the sofa and Geno's sorrowful face come into view. With his partner being so much taller than him, even looking up at the ceiling wasn't an option when Geno wanted to get his attention.

"Sid. . .I sorry. Not realize how much I not here. Not fair, you have do everything."

That right there was pretty much all he had wanted. Just some  _acknowledgement_ of the fact that he was trying to keep all of it together and wasn't getting too much help. Shea did what he could but with a short shift, that was only so much.

"I just want you here a little more." He sighed. "Besides, why do you always think you have to do everything by yourself? If she needs help moving, you can't ask some of the guys from the beer league or the tattoo parlor to help out one afternoon instead of taking 10 trips yourself? We have  _friends_ , Geno. Real ones. Ones who will help us if we need it. Hell, you should've seen how fast Stefan and Nick were over to help get me to the hospital."

Geno looked like he wanted to kick himself and while Sid didn't want to rub in the fact that he hadn't been there, he wanted Geno to understand that they had resources they could rely on. People who would be happy to give them a hand when they needed it.

"I ask." Geno said resolutely before eying the pizza. Sid pushed the box toward him and he took a piece, scarfing it down.

As he closed his eyes, he felt Geno sneak his arm around him and Sid shuffled over, leaning his head against Geno's shoulder. While having this happen had sucked, perhaps they had both learned a little something from it. Geno couldn't do anything if he didn't talk, and they both had some pretty damn good friends.

 


	7. A Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when Sid thinks nothing can surprise him, something does.

Something was up with Geno. Sid could tell. Even though his partner's English wasn't perfect, he was still usually pretty damn chatty, with the customers and with anyone else, for that matter.

But in the days after his little accident, Geno had gotten pretty quiet.

Sid couldn't complain about how attentive Geno was, however. He was getting the help he needed at the shop and his knee was doing a lot better as a result of him staying off of it more. What was on Geno's mind, though?

Not even Anya knew, when Sid texted her to ask. Sometimes if it was something complicated and he didn't have the English words to express it the right way, Geno would sometimes talk about things with his ex-wife but for her to not even have any clue was worrying to him. She was concerned too and promised to let him know if he did end up telling her something.

Nick and Chris had noticed and everyone in the beer league was peppering Sid with questions. Geno was distracted and not himself. What was going on?

That was the thing eating at him as he woke up Saturday morning. Niki was going to be dropped off on Sunday and spend the day and night with them, which he could see Geno was excited about but he was still more solemn and withdrawn than normal.

"Sid?" Geno's voice called from the kitchen and he was startled from his thoughts as he sat up, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Yeah?" He called back, his voice still slightly gravelly with sleep.

"You wanting eggs for breakfast?"

Okay. Now he  _really_ wondered what the hell was going on. Geno didn't cook a heck of a lot and when he did, it was usually on the grill. Occasionally he would make toast but Sid was pretty much the cook of the house while Geno handled the take out menus. If his partner was trying to cook for him, it usually meant he was trying to get back in Sid's good graces and that thought stung a little bit.

He'd been pretty sure he had told Geno he wasn't angry. Frustrated but not angry and he thought it had been clear but maybe it wasn't. They could talk after breakfast. Or at least, Geno's attempt at breakfast.

"Eggs are fine." He called back, wondering if he should actually go into the kitchen to see what was going on or let Geno have his little mystery.

Opting for the latter, he got out his phone and sent a text to Anya.

_He's in the kitchen and asked me if I wanted eggs for breakfast._

Her response was almost immediate.

_he try cook?!?_

He had to put a hand over his mouth to stifle his amusement. She too knew what kind of a cook he was. He tried hard, but it usually just didn't go his way.

_I guess. I have no idea what he's up to._

She sent a couple of confused face emojis and then another message.

_you not eating, sid. just pretend._

Her concern for his health finally did make him snicker quietly to himself. Surely it wouldn't be that bad, but if he really needed to, he could take her advice.

_I'll keep you updated._

Plugging his phone in to charge, he was debating the merits of taking a shower when he heard the distinctive beeping of the smoke detector and heard Geno cursing loudly in Russian.

Vaulting himself out of bed and hobbling down the hallway as quickly as he could, Sid took in the scene in the kitchen as he rounded the corner and stopped dead.

Geno was frantically waving his hand over the toaster, where something that had once been bread now resembled a black brick that had been forged in the fires of Mount Doom. He was halfway expecting Frodo and Sam to come strolling by with the One Ring. The stove had all four burners on and Sid reflected that he had never seen eggs quite that color before.

"Babe?" He asked, unable to keep a bit of wry amusement out of his voice. "What are you doing?"

Sighing, Geno muttered to himself before reaching over and turning the burners off. "Wanted to do this special." He groused, his eyebrows knitting together the way that they always did when he was upset or frustrated with something.

Special? What was it that Geno was wanting to do special? Sid wasn't following and reached out a hand to catch his partner's arm.

"Hey, talk to me." He said softly.

There was a pause and Geno swallowed, almost like he was  _nervous_ , which had Sid on edge suddenly. Geno was always the confident, boisterous one. He would leap in where hardly anybody else dared to and if he was nervous about this, then Sid had no idea what in the flying fuck could be happening.

"When you get hurt, make me think lots." Geno said softly, resting one of his much larger hands over the one that Sid had resting on his arm. "Make me think how could've lost you if Shea not there. You fall alone, maybe could bleed until dead."

Sid had thought about that himself and had sent some cookies to the boys as well as leaving a platter for Shea. They might well have saved his life.

He gave Geno's arm a soft squeeze and his partner went on.

"Think about that make me think about life with you. How better it be with you."

That made Sid smile before that expression changed, his eyes widening almost comically as Geno sank down onto one knee, producing a small, black box from the pocket of his chinos with that sheepish smile that Sid had come to love before he even knew it.

"We together long time now Sid, so having question for you. You marry me?"

Staring as Geno opened the box, all Sid could do was blink for a moment before he nodded dumbly. He couldn't have spoken if his life depended on it but he didn't want Geno to wonder or doubt or panic.  
  
"Yes?" Geno prompted and Sid was finally able to speak.

"Yes, Zhenya." He answered, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'll marry you."

Beaming at him, Geno got back up to his feet and slipped the simple, silver band onto Sid's left hand.

Sid was surprised to feel that Geno's hands were shaking almost as bad as his own were and he had to take a moment to breathe before he could even properly admire the ring. "You liking?" Geno asked, sounding anxious about this.

"No, I loving." Sid corrected him, reaching to get an arm around him.

He'd had no idea this was coming  _at all_. Usually he could tell things but it made sense now why Geno had been so withdrawn. His  _fiance_ usually spilled the beans on any surprise that he planned so keeping this to himself must've been rather torturous.

"Maybe Tyler can invite Colton to the wedding as his date." Sid joked and that made Geno laughed before he kissed him.

The baker still hadn't gotten a date with the elusive Colton Parayko but they were talking regularly via text and it looked like they were going to meet up at the theater to see the new Avengers movie together. Not an official date, but it would be time spent together outside the beer league and Tyler was excited about that.

"We know Martin bring Chris." Geno snorted.

The two of them had been steadily dating and Martin seemed to spend more time at Chris' place than his own these days but Sid was happy for his friend. Martin seemed happier and a lot more at peace since Chris had come into his path and while Chris was a naturally happy person, he was more exuberant. Plus he and Martin were just damned cute together. Chris had become a rather enthusiastic cheerleader at their games, which Stefan and Shea were also coming to.

Sid felt like the two of them liked each other but Shea just wasn't ready for something yet and Stefan seemed patient enough to not push him. He hoped whatever was going to happen there would be good for both of them and they wouldn't lose the genuine friendship they had built.

"I think Dumo's about ready to stab anyone who even looks at Tanner." Sid shot back and Geno shrugged.

"He not speak, he not get."

That was about it in a nutshell and maybe there was a way to urge things along there but for now, all Sid could do was stare at the ring on his finger.

"We have to tell Anya." He said and Geno nodded, getting out his phone.

She answered the FaceTime request and as soon as her face popped up on Geno's screen, Sid just silently held his left hand up.

It took her only a few seconds to get it and she screeched before firing off questions at Geno in Russian and at one point Sid was pretty sure she was scolding him for not letting her know. He could follow more Russian than he could speak.

When she'd finally calmed down enough to use English, she directed her comments to Sid.

"Happy for you." She beamed and he knew that was a genuine statement.

"Thanks, Anya. That means a lot."

This whole situation could've been really awkward if she'd wanted to make it that way but she had always been nothing but nice and kind to him. He really did appreciate her and hoped that she knew he considered her an extended part of his family, which was rapidly getting bigger.

The guys from the tattoo parlor. Hank from the hardware store and his new assistant Jackson. Shea and his boys. Everybody in the beer league.

It was nice to know that whatever came his way, he wouldn't be facing it along and with Geno going to be his  _husband_ in the near future, Sid knew there was no other life he would want than this one right here.


	8. Good News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sid spreads the news of his engagement to Geno and a few other people have news of their own.

The engagement ring still felt a little bit weird on Sid's hand but it was only because he wasn't quite used to it yet. Sometimes he forgot it was there and other times he was intensely aware of the small band of metal that Geno had placed there.

"Hello hello!" called Shea's cheerful voice and Sid smiled to himself before turning to face Shea.

"Hey, Shea. Have a nice weekend?"

Nodding enthusiastically, Shea got his name tag clipped to his shirt (a suggestion from Hank, which Sid had taken). "Really good. Got to have the boys over and we were able to do some beach combing. Gabe and I are going to build some shelves for his room out of driftwood."

In his free time, Shea liked to build things and had even helped Sid and Geno with some shelves for the store. He had mentioned passing on some of his handyman skills to his oldest son and Sid was glad to see and hear that Shea seemed to be doing a little bit better.

"That sounds amazing and adorable." Sid nodded.

"It really is. You should see Gabe with his little tool belt on." Shea laughed, shaking his head. "How about you? How was your weekend?"

"Interesting." came Sid's answer and he held up his left hand.

It took a moment for Shea to look but as soon as he did, his jaw dropped before he let out a loud whoop that almost hurt Sid's ears.

"G proposed?! Fucking finally!!"

That made Sid crack up as Shea embraced him, thumping him enthusiastically on the back.

"I'm really happy for you two, man. I'd better be invited to the wedding."

"You will be." Sid assured him as Shea released his grip. "There'll be a lot of people to invite to this shindig."

"Oh I bet." Shea snorted as he headed out to open the register for the afternoon. Geno was running some errands for him and that meant Sid had some time to look over distributor's catalogs to see what he might want to carry for the summer and fall months.

He was happy, and was glad to see that Shea seemed to be doing better too. Sid and Geno both really liked him and hoped that he would be okay. He and Stefan were spending an increasing amount of time together, which Sid wanted to comment on but figured it was better if he didn't. Both of them were friends and their business was their own.

Shutting the catalogs, Sid headed outside to get a little sun in the courtyard and found Nick Lima deep in conversation with Jackson Yueill, one of the newer employees at Hank's hardware store. Jackson was a smiley, happy go lucky blond who knew a lot about home repairs and he and Shea got along very well and Sid was well aware that Jackson had caught Nick's eye some time ago.

"Hey Sid!" Jackson called, waving at him.

"Hey guys." He called back, returning the wave.

"Nice weekend?" Nick asked, eyebrows raised.

Sid shrugged casually and held up his hand. "You tell me." He said flippantly.

Nick's eyes widened. "Holy shit! You and Geno are engaged!"

"We are." Sid confirmed and Jackson came over to hug up.

"What's going on?" Chris asked as he stepped out of the back door of Dempsey's, seeing some sort of commotion going on.

"Geno proposed to Sid! They're getting married!" Nick said excitedly before Sid could even say anything himself.

"Hey! That's awesome!" Chris beamed before coming over to give Sid a hug of his own.

"Thanks, guys." Sid said, once he was released. It was nice to know that they had support from their friends. He already knew the guys from their beer league were going to be over the moon and Sid was hoping that they might be able to convince Tyler to do their wedding cake for them. He was pretty sure that would be an easy sell, though.

"Hello?" a familiar voice called and Sid turned to see Martin poking his head out the back door. It was a no school day and while Sid figured Martin would have the day off, he hadn't expected to see him here.

"Hey, sweetheart." Chris greeted, a downright sappy expression on his face as soon as his eyes caught sight of Martin's face.

Sid watched with great interest as Martin's face went a little bit red but he was still holding himself tall as he made his way outside and hooked an arm around Chris, cuddling up against his side. Chris had proved to be wonderful for Martin and Sid was just glad that his friend now had someone in his life who appreciated him properly. Martin had been through some shit before he'd met Chris and sometimes, he hadn't always chosen people who built him up.

But it was obvious that Chris was crazy about Martin and Sid could tell how much respect was there on Chris' part. Martin had spoken openly to him about how Chris never pushed him for something he wasn't ready for and never made him feel bad if he needed to think about something. Sid had responded by telling Martin that Chris was a rare and beautiful gazelle and he'd better lock that up pronto.

"Awwww..." Nick teased and Chris just flipped him off but there was no true heat in the gesture. It was all meant in good fun.

"You're just jealous." Martin sniffed, joining in on the teasing of Nick.

"Nah. He's got me now." Jackson answered brightly and Nick's face went a little bit red.

"You've been holding out on us, Nicky Boy." Chris chastised, wagging a finger at him.

"So have you. When were you going to tell us that Martin moved in with you last week?"

Sid's head whipped around back to Martin with an accusing stare and his friend wilted slightly under the power of his gaze.

"It was an impromptu thing." Martin said weakly as Sid folded his arms over his chest.

"Martin was griping about his lease and said he really didn't want to resign it." Chris shrugged, shifting one of his own arms comfortably around Martin's shoulders. "I figured since he was over at my place most of the time already, why not just stay there all the time?"

"And you didn't call us to help you move." Sid sighed dramatically.

"My brothers got it all in a couple trips." Chris explained, chuckling when Martin hid his face against his shoulder. "If there was anything we couldn't handle though, we for sure would've called you."

Slightly appeased by that, Sid nodded. "When's the house warming party?"

"Depends on how long it takes us to get the basement finished off. We want to put a party cave down there or something. A foosball table, maybe air hockey table, a nice big tv to watch games on, that kind of thing."

"Sounds pretty cool." Nick commented, hovering pretty close to Jackson.

"It does." Sid admitted. It would be neat to see it when it was done.

Checking his watch, Jackson sighed. "I have to get back to work. See you for dinner, Nicky."

With a kiss to Nick's cheek, the young man swept away, whistling cheerfully and as soon as he was back inside, they all started teasing Nick.

"Oh Nicky!" Sid said, pretending to swoon.

"Shut up." Nick huffed but he was fighting back a smile.

Rubbing a hand over his face, Sid is startled when Martin lets out a sound like a screech.

They all freeze and Martin comes over, snagging Sid's left hand. "Is that what I think it is?!"

Sid nodded, wanting to laugh at the expression on Martin's face. "It is. I was going to tell you guys at the league tomorrow night. Don't spoil the surprise, huh?"

"I make no promises, you jerk." Martin sighed before hugging Sid tightly. "I'm glad to see that happen for you, Sid."

"I'm glad Chris happened for you." He answered and Martin gave him a little shove when he released him.

"Oh shut up." Martin sighed but he couldn't help smiling when Chris reached out and snagged his hand in his own.

It seemed there was good news all the way around today and Sid was glad to hear it.


	9. With A Little Help From My Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shea's boys need someone to look after them when their daycare isn't open and their mom has to work. The boys of the strip mall band together to make it work.

Sid was sitting at his desk about a hour before Crosby's Sporting Goods was due to open, looking over a catalog and debating the merits of what he wanted for the winter season. California could get cool but not super cold and he wasn't sure if beanies would sell well but some people liked to wear them as a fashion statement and not because their heads were actually cold (Stefan among them).

The back door opened and Sid turned to see who could be coming in this early. He wasn't expecting any deliveries today and was surprised to see Shea, looking quite grave.

"Shea, what's going on?" He asked, clearly concerned.

Heaving a sigh, Shea ran an agitated hand over his hair, which was messed up and not combed into place like Sid was used to seeing. Clearly Shea was having a rough morning.

"The boys' daycare is closed today and my ex was supposed to have the day off to look after them but a bunch of people at her work called in and they really need her to go in today. Fridays are our busy day and I don't want to leave you and G hanging this afternoon but none of the boys' babysitters have called me back and I don't know what to do..."

Sid thought about it for a moment. He knew that Clint Dempsey brought his kids to the tattoo parlor after school sometimes and he had a big supply of crayons and coloring books.

"Bring them here." He said with a shrug. "I'm pretty sure the guys over at Dempsey's would help keep an eye on them and Clint's kids go over there sometimes so he's got plenty of stuff to keep kids occupied. We can see if he could spare a couple coloring books or something."

Shea brightened up when Sidney suggested that and nodded. "I can run over there and see if they'd be cool with that. Wondo's probably there already and he can text Clint."

Waving a hand, Shea zipped out the door and it wasn't long before he was back, looking highly relieved.

"Wondo called him and Clint said I can just take them right over there when I get here. There's a little tv in the back and he's got some kids' movies and stuff. Gabe will be happy to draw or color and Jude loves cartoons or Disney movies so we've got a plan in place."

Sid was relieved to hear that. As Shea had previously mentioned, Fridays really were a busy day at the store and while he and Geno would have made things work if Shea really couldn't have gotten someone to watch the kids, it would've been crazy. This way they still had their helper and the boys would have somewhere to go.

Gabe and Jude were adorable kids, very well behaved and Sid was guilty of spoiling the Salinas boys, giving them a couple of little soccer balls and a football but there were too darn cute. Sid knew Shea was frugal and had enough money to cover the basics but not a lot extra and he didn't mind helping to brighten up the boys' day a little bit.

Shea left to head over to pick up the boys from his ex so she could get to her job and Sid resumed perusing the catalog, writing down some items he might want to have in stock before setting it aside to get the store open.

Geno had a cold and decided he would mainly stay in the back so he didn't "contaminates" anyone who came in, which Sid had to admit was pretty gracious of him. It was that time of year, which was why he remained vigilant about wiping down the doorknobs at closing time with a Lysol wipe and making sure he got enough sleep to keep his immune system strong.

"I bought you soup, Zhenya." Sid called back to his fiance. "It's in the fridge when you get hungry."

Geno brightened up when Sid mentioned that. If there was one thing Geno loved, it was soup of any kind and with him not feeling well. Sid had gotten some egg drop soup from their favorite Chinese restaurant. It was a light soup, easy on the stomach and Sid himself would always order it when he wasn't feeling too hot himself.

The morning whizzed by and Shea came in at noon with Gabe and Jude in tow. The two boys immediately ran over to say hello to him and he couldn't help sneaking Gabe a Snickers bar with a firm admonishment to split it with his brother before Shea took them over to Dempsey's.

"They're adorable." Sid commented when Shea came back and the other man beamed. It was clear that he loved his kids and they meant the world to him.

"They are. Julie and I have done our best to raise them well."

"From what I can see, you guys are killing the parenting game." Sid said with a firm nod.

He found it interesting that Shea never badmouthed his ex-wife. Some friends that had been through divorces didn't have a single nice thing to say about their former partners but Shea wasn't like that at all. He said things hadn't worked out between then but a bad word about Julie never passed out of his mouth.

It was a good quality and just confirmed to Sid that Shea really was a good person.

The afternoon was busy, as expected and when Sid went out for his break (after Geno had glowered at him and pointed at the back door), he took a seat on one of the benches with a sigh.

"Busy day?" Nick asked, looking over from where he was sketching something. Jackson was leaning against his shoulder, looking sleepy and content to just let Nick draw.

"Oh god yes." Sid groaned, shaking his head. "I'm just glad Shea was able to leave the boys over here. Otherwise it would've just been me and Geno and he's got a cold right now."

"There's something going around." Jackson nodded, still curled up close to Nick. "Hank's got something and one of the guys at the gym across the street, Jordan, said a lot of their personal trainers were coming down with it too."

"Damn colds." Sid sighed, pretending to make the sign that would ward off the evil eye.

Nick and Jackson laughed at that and after sitting there for a few more minutes, Sid went back inside to wrestle with more customers until it was time to close.

Friday was traditionally the night that everyone mingled at Dempsey's but Sid figured he would get Geno home so he decided he would at least go over and say hello before making their excuses for not being there.

When he got there, ahead of Shea who was wiping down the glass in the store, he found the tattoo parlor quiet and Chris waved him over, pointing into the back room.

There, seated on the sofa with Gabe and Jude asleep in each arm and snoring softly himself was Stefan.

Sid immediately whipped out his phone and took a picture of the precious scene in front of him.

He heard Shea come in and was able to get a good look at his face when he took in the sight of Stefan holding his two boys. Clearly Gabe and Jude were comfortable with him and Shea flushed when Sid raised an inquiring eyebrow at him. In his opinion, it was time for those two to get their shit together.

Making his way toward the door to go and collect Geno, Sid hoped that perhaps, things might work out well for them.


End file.
